I just want to say …I use to donate grocery to thai monestry every Sunday..but I found out that vegetable i donated do not get used all …some might be get spoiled. And thai people prefer thai ingredients. So I decided to donate a specific amount to monestry donation box I will write it is for food and electricity …
It is always good to ask the monks or committee what the monastery needs rather than guess. We get these 8-requisite packages all the time. They are very expensive for locals to buy and if it is the average type, it is useless. For instance, the bowl is fake.
In Thailand they are called monk buckets.
In Myanmar, they are called monk baskets.
Then these items eventually get sold back to the store.
In sri lanka the monks usually donate to the main cetiya in Anuradhapura .. then “they” sell back to the store or wholesaler, and the cycle continues.
When donating non-material goods, it is best to make sure it is done in an allowable way. If you give a cash envelope to a monk, it is his personally and not for the monastery. Even if you write “for food”, it is for him to personally use for food.
Even if you give to Sangha, the monks can have a meeting and then decide split the cash in equal parts for themselves. The sangha is one thing and the org is another thing. Sometimes the board of directors is entirely monks. Then they control both. It depends on the monastery, vinaya practice, and structure.
You should also inform the monk if you donate and what he can do with it. Recently, someone made a donation, and did not inform the monk properly. Now he is afraid to use it. It is locked.
When giving requisites, the more you limit it, the less it will get used.
Giving specific vegetables is limited.
Giving requisites for food, is broader but limited.
Giving requisites is not limited. (but there should be an invitation for the monk to use it)
Giving to the general fund of the monastery is not limited, and usually separate from the monks’ personal use.
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I doubt if any of the monks actually intend for the atapirikara to be used. It’s a symbolic gift in a way. There is a real intention that by offering requisites it will help them to have the requisites as a monk in future lives.
I guess one could argue that if you offer crappy requisites it will only ensure that you get crappy requisites in the future. But good karma can also multiply things, so perhaps that’s how it works.
But for sure if someone is disappointed to hear that what they offered is not being used, then they must ask what is needed or give something more fungible than fresh veggies.
I think you mean.. “I doubt if any of the lay people intend for the atapirikara to be used.”
The main purpose of monks donating to the mahacetiya is to clean out the store room and not have guilt of selling the atapirikara although I know one monastery that had a meeting and they agreed to “use” those items (and other items we had in excess) for construction or something. I didn’t understand fully what they said, but they loaded up a truck afterwards.
If people want to donate robes.. it is best to donate robes.
If people want to donate a bowl, it is best to donate a bowl.
The stuff that is bundled together is usually fake (especially the ones covered in brown paper). However, some have real bowls in them. We usually save those.
However, I won’t take a sangha bowl. There is too much vinaya on this that I grew up with at pa-auk. Even pa-auk does not follow this anymore, but I’m old school pa-auk.
There is an issue with the bowl stand and the cover being garubhanda (heavy good). So I stay away from that. My bowl is from 2011 and from my brother.
No, I meant exactly what I said.
I think we will just have to agree to disagree.
Many times offerings are purely symbolic in terms of the items themselves. For example the completely useless but bejeweled sandals people offer when they are hoping for a vehicle.
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If you write something on the envelope, you might want to keep it as general as possible, so they can satisfy any need that may arise. Something like, “This is for any needs of the Saṅgha, such as food, or electricity, or anything else that may be needed.” This way they can easily apply it to anything they need to (for example, they may need a water pump, lawn equipment, as well as food, etc). I rejoice in your merit-making!!
To donate so much there must be a lot of non-attachment.
Here is some information on alobha (non-attachment) along with a brief teaching about it:
The Atthasālinī (I, Book I, Part IV, Chapter I, 127) gives the following definition of alobha :
. . . absence of greed (alobha ) has the characteristic of the mind being free from cupidity for an object of thought, or of its being detached, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. It has the function of not appropriating, like an emancipated monk, and the manifestation of detachment, like a man fallen into a foul place. . .
The Visuddhimagga (XIV, 143) gives a similar definition².
When there is a moment of non-attachment there cannot be attachment at the same time. Non-attachment has the characteristic of non-adherence like a water drop on a lotus leaf. The lotus grows in the water but it is not wetted by the water, that is its nature. A drop of water glides off a lotus leaf without affecting it. So it is with non-attachment, alobha . It is not attached to the object which is experienced, it is unaffected by it. That is the nature of non-attachment. Sometimes there are conditions for non-attachment, but shortly afterwards we are affected again by objects. Through right understanding one will become less affected. We read in the Sutta Nipāta (Khuddaka Nikāya , The Group of Discourses, vs. 811-813,)³ :
. . . Not being dependent upon anything, a sage holds nothing as being pleasant or unpleasant. Lamentation and avarice do not cling to him, as water does not cling to a (lotus-)leaf.
Just as a drop of water does not cling to a (lotus-)leaf, as water does not cling to a lotus, so a sage does not cling to what is seen or heard or thought.
Therefore a purified one does not think that purity is by means of what is seen, heard, or thought, nor does he wish for purity by anything else⁴. He is neither impassioned nor dispassioned.
The function of non-attachment is, as we have seen, “not appropriating, like an emancipated monk”. A monk who has attained arahatship does not hold on to any object which presents itself; he is not enslaved but completely detached and thus free, emancipated.
The Atthasālinī states that non-attachment has the manifestation of detachment like someone who has fallen into a foul place. Someone who falls into a cesspool does not consider that a place of shelter where he could stay. He sees it as a danger, as something to be abhorred, and therefore he would get out of it as soon as possible. It is the same with non-attachment, it does not take refuge in what is actually a danger. Attachment to the objects which are experienced is dangerous, because attachment leads to all kinds of evil deeds which can produce an unhappy rebirth. Any form of attachment, even if it is more subtle, is dangerous, because so long as attachment has not been eradicated we are subject to rebirth and thus also to old age, sickness and death.
It is difficult to know the characteristic of non-attachment, since the moments of non-attachment are rare. We are often too lazy to do something for someone else; we are attached to our own comfort or to quiet. Or we may find some excuses: the weather is too cold or too hot to exert ourselves for someone else. However, when there are conditions for non-attachment, we do not care about tiredness or discomfort, we do not think of ourselves but we see the usefulness of helping someone else. We can learn from experience that non-attachment is beneficial both for ourselves and for others. At the moment of non-attachment we renounce our own pleasure and then there is peace of mind. It may seem that at a particular moment a choice between kusala and akusala can be made, but there is no self who makes a choice; each moment of citta is conditioned by many factors. It is not self but the cetasika alobha which performs the function of detachment. We cannot force ourselves to renounce sense-pleasures, but we can learn the difference between the characteristic of kusala and of akusala when they appear. Thus we will gradually see that kusala is beneficial and that akusala is not beneficial but harmful.
Footnotes:
¹ See The Roots of Good and Evil, p. 19, by Ven. Nyanaponika, The Wheel no. 251-253, B.P.S. Kandy.
² See also Dhammasangaṇi , par32.
³ I am using the P.T.S. translation by K.R. Norman.
⁴ By any other way than the Noble Eightfold Path, according to the commentary. See the Discourse Collection, Wheel Publication no. 82, B.P.S. Kandy.
—Cetasikas by Nina van Gorkom
https://www.abhidhamma.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Cetasikas.html#bookmark158
R
Bhante, I don’t understand what to do. I take 5 to 6 varieties of vegetables, eggs, and some types of fruits to offer the Sangha, but many of these are Indian vegetables. Thai vegetables are expensive for me.
I can do one thing: I can decide on one amount, and from that amount, whatever Thai materials I can buy, I will donate. But the Thai monastery people also go to the market every week to buy Thai ingredients, so I thought giving money would be the easiest and most useful way.
In that monastery, many people keep money in envelopes. Then the head monk keeps a cloth on his knee, and people place the envelope there. He says “Sadhu” and accepts it, then people put that envelope in the donation box. People said that from that box, he gives money for groceries, electricity, and other things.
I generally like to donate food to monks ..and I feel good as many people eat ..can u suggest how can I improve my donation..thanks
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My view on donation is connected with acquiring merits. Somehow in this life, I do not feel resourceful enough to fulfill many desires, and many of my decisions or efforts do not bring the results I hope for. Even when I gain something, sometimes due to circumstances or my own actions, I lose it again.
When I read how Mara told the Buddha to move from his seat, and the Buddha replied that he had completed his merits and dāna pāramī, it touched me deeply. I also like the teaching that through generosity, qualities like āyu, vaṇṇa, rūpa, and bala increase.
At the same time, I honestly do not think I am highly detached. I can donate food items, but if I myself were hungry for two meals, I do not know whether I could still give. Bodhisattvas could donate even their wife and children; I do not think I am capable of that level of sacrifice.
Sometimes I like to imagine that I could offer my body to a hungry tiger, but honestly… I do not really know. That’s where I am right now.
Well, you have gotten some great advice here already. But if you want to actually give the food that they will eat, then you have to work backwards and see what they eat. Make friends with people at the temple. Ask them if you could help them prepare their next dana. Basically you have to be like a skilled thief, but in the opposite direction. Be cunning and observant. If the monastery has a pantry, look there. Figure out what is there because the monks like to eat it and what is there because the monks don’t like to eat it. Watch the monks at a meal. See what they are eating. Show up in the late afternoon and ask if the monks like to go out and get coffee from a coffee shop.
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Best thing to do is talk with the ladies who cook and buy the food. Ask for a way to get in on the action.
Best to ask the monks what they need. (You are not obligated to buy anything by asking)
Many people assume a lot of things. Best to ask what the money in the box goes for. Does it ever go for personal use into the monks pockets? Is it for the monastery expenses only? You might be surprised if you ask.
Even so, at a meeting, we once all voted to donate allowable food requisites to a construction project. Those requisites were specifically allocated for food. A sangha can have a legal meeting and do that. But I think not the other way around. It was also the first and only time I saw that happen. Generally speaking, monks at well established monasteries are in excess of food. Certainly BKK monks have too much of it. Like I said.. if you have 100 8-requisite packets or monk buckets, it might be better to have a general fund that monks can get regular needed items, like phone cards with .. etc.
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It’s natural that there is akusala very often. We may be attached to gaining results from giving, for example. But if we can start to recognize when there are moments of attachment and moments of non-attachment with regards to giving, this is excellent. Then we can understand our defilements much better, and slowly giving can become a perfection leading to enlightenment.
The perfection of generosity is a condition for us to cross over the further shore.
"If someone gives away things without expecting a reward, not even rebirth in a
heavenly plane, then his generosity can be a perfection. However, if
someone wants to receive a reward, when he wishes for rebirth as a
millionaire, or for rebirth in different heavenly planes, or if he wants to
receive gain, honour and praise, then his life is still bound up with all
kinds of expectations, and his goal is not the eradication of defilements.
If we reflect about this we can know whether our giving at a specific
moment is a perfection or not.The perfection of generosity is a condition to cross over to the further
shore, namely, the eradication of defilements, different from the realm
of defilements. It is an extremely long way to reach the further shore,
the eradication of defilements; it is not easy to reach it. We should
clearly understand what the eradication of defilements means.
Therefore, we should know whether at the moment of giving we are
hoping for a reward or not. Giving that eliminates lobha, attachment, is
giving with the aim to eradicate defilements, and that means that we
should not expect any kind of reward."—The Perfections Leading to Enlightenment by Sujin Boriharnwanaket
R
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To be human (who you are today), your past kamma must have been kusala. However, it is surrounded by avijjā, tanhā and upādāna (lobha mūla citta).
When giving, knowledge of cause and effects are essential.
If one is not an arahant, one should be aware that rebirth will happen.
The wish to reach Nibbāna is important, but there is a subtle wish to be something reaching Nibbāna. Like painting in the sky, it needs a canvas.
Samsara is not fair, but it is the reality.
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This is classified as meat, anyway, I recommend full vegan if nothing else, it’s because I am vegan.
Indeed, if the monastery doesn’t have a kitchen, no lay person to cook, no point donating to them raw food items.
If you want to donate food to monks, best is when you meet a monk during our alms-round. Or invite monks for house dana. Actually house dana might be perhaps the best way to ensure that the monks actually eat the food you donate. If a monastery is very well supported, certainly not all the food from alms arounds are eaten, just because there’s too much food.
For house dana, I would also recommend vegan, just in case there’s vegan monks like me. Or else, that vegan monk would just eat white rice, if all your dishes are mixed with meat.
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Soley on the context of what is said in this message. This is your personal preference, not in relation to vinaya, not in relation to orthodox theravada.
It is also against vinaya to speak like this publicly if you expect donations like this. You can only ask for specific food if you have a documented health problem that a doctor told you to follow, and you can only say this when you are actually “invited” by someone to ask for your needs. Otherwise, you have to push the food aside that lands in your bowl and choose what to eat. If that means not getting the right nutrition, then that is based on your choice rather than needs.
Furthermore, the whole context of the post was to have his food eaten and used by monks rather than given to the lay people, or thrown to the dogs. I can almost guarantee you that monks from Thailand who already have issues eating the food he chooses to donate will not appreciate a vegan meal. It is very clear in the context of his post. Certainly not an entire group of monks will be happy and they will avoid. If he wants to offer vegetables, it is best to do as a side dish and speak with those who cook.
@Paññādhammika , this is downright bad advice given, not theravāda, and very bad for a monk to publicly speak about.
Were you by any chance exposed to Mahayana before ordaining? I know that is quite common in Malaysia where pockets of Buddhism is spread (besides being a Muslim country).
I was a vegetarian for a total of ten years before ordaining and many years at vegetarian monasteries (like pa-auk and na-uyana) for many many years. I even quit my job due to a software project being used by animal laboratory issues. I’m not blind to the issue of vegetarianism. But take note it is an “ism”, while we follow the vāda of Theravāda.
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Yes, but my veganism is due to environmental concerns, not Mahāyana.
In this Hai Yai monastery I am in currently, most of the dishes are mixed with meat, even for some vegetables I managed to get, I have to separate out the prawns out of it. Or push out the meat in between the tofu. Really, it’s more of offering choices and more nutrients to those rare vegan monks that it’s good to give vegan food. Too many people are giving meat based food already.
It’s more of bad to eat the food if one requests for superior foods which includes meat and fish when one is not sick, but yes, indeed, I wasn’t invited here, and I didn’t ask food for myself, just stating some facts that there’s vegan monks around.
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That’s interesting, Venerable Sir. If I wish to be an Arahant instead of simply wishing for Nibbana, is there more craving involved? Even if I simply wish for Nibbana, will there still be a very subtle wish to be an Arahant so does that mean the two wishes, to be an Arahant and to attain Nibbana, are the same and still produce the next life? Should one focus more on the practice itself rather than making wishes when doing good deeds? Does doing good deeds and making wishes for Nibbana or Arahantship help us attain it in this life? Can it produce results even in this life or does it only produce results in the next life?
Wish for Nibbāna. That is all I can say.
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